Danita Brandt
Danita Brandt
Danita Brandt
Paleobiologist
Danita Brandt is a paleobiologist. She studies arthropods, a group of invertebrates that includes crustaceans, insects, and spiders as well as extinct organisms like trilobites and eurypterids (sea scorpions).
Danita attended college at the University of Illinois and later went to the University of Cincinnati for her master’s degree. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Michigan State University (MSU) in Lansing, Michigan, where she teaches a range of paleobiology and geology courses. She is also an adjunct curator at the MSU museum.
Her research and fieldwork focus on fossil arthropods. Arthropods are a group of invertebrates that includes crustaceans, insects, myriapods (centipedes and millipedes), scorpions, spiders, and the now-extinct trilobites and eurypterids (sea scorpions). She investigates the evolution, extinction, paleobiology, paleoecology, and trace fossils associated with this group, with a particular emphasis on Paleozoic (541 to 252 million years ago) fossils.
At Michigan State University, she is a driving force behind the museum’s annual Darwin Discovery Day, an event honoring Charles Darwin’s achievements and celebrating scientific exploration and discovery. She also uses an array of social media platforms to educate the public on issues surrounding Earth history and evolution.
Daring to Dig Interview
In this interview, Danita discusses her experiences as a student in the 1970s, including the scarcity of female role models and the difficulties of dealing with the sexist attitudes common during that time. She also talks about how she and her husband navigated a dual-career relationship after getting married during graduate school. This interview was recorded in 2015.
Selected works by Danita Brandt
Brandt, D.S. 1993. Ecdysis in Flexicalymene meeki (Trilobita). Journal of Paleontology 67: 999–1005. Link
Brandt, D.S. 2008. Mulitple-Rusophycus (arthropod ichnofossil) assemblages and their significance. Ichnos 15: 28–43. Link
Brandt, D.S. 2018. Charting the geosciences with Google Ngram Viewer. GSA Today 28(5): 66–67.
Brandt, D., and T. Smrecak. 2016. The future of geoscience collections in an evolving academic environment. PALAIOS 31: 371–373. Link
Seitz, M.E., and D.S. Brandt. 2019. Defining the ichnogenus Arthrophycus using numerical taxonomic methods. Ichnos 26: 58–79. Link
Further reading
2021. Ask the expert: Are Michigan’s landforms at risk of erosion? Interview of Danita Brandt by Emilie Lorditch. MSU Today, 29 June 2021. Link
Michigan State University. 2002. Molting habits may have led to extinction of trilobite. Science Daily, 25 November 2002. Link
Wu, K.J. 2020. World’s oldest scorpions may have moved from sea to land 437 million years ago. Smithsonian Magazine, 16 January 2020. Link
Video & audio content
Michigan State University: Faculty conversations: Danita Brandt. Video, 2 February 2011, via YouTube. Link
MSUMuseum: Michigan Geology with Dr. Danita Brandt. Presentation by Danita Brandt, Video, 18 September 2020, via YouTube. Link
MSUMuseum: Ask the Expert - “Dinosaurs in Michigan?” Video, 10 December 2010, via YouTube. Link
MSU Science Festival: “Fire, Water, and Ice Michigan’s Geological Story.” Presentation by Danita Brandt, video, 24 April 2021, via YouTube. Link